JP7317234B2 - System and method for unmanned aerial system communication - Google Patents

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is the subject of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/071,434, filed August 28, 2020 and U.S. Patent Application No. 17/096,027, filed November 12, 2020. No. 1, 2003, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the operation of unmanned aerial systems, and more particularly to monitoring and assigning quality of service for unmanned aerial system communications.

Both Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-derived Quality of Service (QoS) (e.g., unmanned aerial system (UAS)-to-network uplink) or UAS-terminating QoS (e.g., network-to-UAS downlink) It can be maintained against the operation of layers. QoS may include, but is not limited to network bandwidth, delay, jitter, data loss rate, and the like.

The three command and control (C2) communication modes currently supported may require different network resource support from the UAS application layer.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can solve the above problems and others.

According to embodiments, for direct C2 communication, a Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) Group Manager Server is provided to ensure matches between UAV and UAV controller pairs, such as matches based on specific UAS ID configurations. may A SEAL Network Resource Manager (NRM) server can trigger network QoS provisioning based on the group ID. In some cases, subgroups may be created for each UAV and UAV controller to achieve separate QoS control for each uplink and downlink. Embodiments of the present disclosure can provide network resource support by providing direct C2 QoS provisioning using a group-based approach.

According to one or more embodiments, a method is provided that is performed by at least one processor implementing a first server. The method requests group identifiers for pairs of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and UAV controllers, or respective group identifiers for each pair, from a second server to create one or more groups of pairs. provisioning a quality of service (QoS) for the paired communication using the paired group identifier or the respective group identifier for each pair; and triggering a third server to perform QoS adaptation for the pair based on a determination that the QoS requirements of the pair are not met.

According to one embodiment, the paired communication is direct command and control (C2) communication between the UAV and the controller.

According to one embodiment, the conditions of communication include at least one of bandwidth, delay, jitter, and data loss rate.

According to one embodiment, the method further comprises recognizing the UAV and the controller of the UAV as a pair based on the UAV and the controller being communicatively connected to the first server.

According to one embodiment, the step of recognizing the pair is based on obtaining a first identifier of the UAV and a second identifier of the controller, and that the first identifier and the second identifier are the same. and recognizing the UAV and controller as a pair.

According to one embodiment, the obtaining step comprises obtaining a group identifier for the pair based on requesting the second server to create one or more groups for the pair; Provisioning includes provisioning QoS for paired communications using the paired group identifiers.

According to one embodiment, the obtaining step obtains a respective group identifier for each pair based on requesting the second server to create one or more groups for the pair. The step of provisioning includes provisioning QoS for communication of the pairs using respective group identifiers for each of the pairs.

According to one embodiment, the second server is a Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) Group Manager Server and the third server is a Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) Network Resource Manager Server.

According to one embodiment, triggering the third server to perform pairwise QoS adaptation comprises sending a request to the third server to perform QoS adaptation.

According to one embodiment, the method further comprises receiving a response from the third server indicating that the QoS has been successfully adapted.

According to one or more embodiments, a system is provided. The system includes at least one processor and memory storing computer code. The computer code directs a second server, implemented by at least one processor, to provide group identifiers for pairs of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and UAV controllers, or respective group identifiers for each pair. a request code configured to request a server and a first server to provision quality of service (QoS) for paired communications using the paired group identifiers or the respective group identifiers for each pair; a provisioning code configured to: a determination code configured for the first server to determine whether conditions of the communication do not meet predetermined QoS requirements; and trigger code configured to trigger a third server to perform QoS adaptation for the pair based on a determination that the QoS requirements of the pair are not met.

According to one embodiment, the paired communication is direct command and control (C2) communication between the UAV and the controller.

According to one embodiment, the conditions of communication include at least one of bandwidth, delay, jitter, and data loss rate.

According to one embodiment, the computer code causes the first server to recognize the UAV and the controller of the UAV as a pair based on the UAV and controller being communicatively coupled to the first server. It further includes a recognition code configured to:

According to one embodiment, the identification code is determined by the first server identifying the UAV and the controller of the UAV based on the first server obtaining the first identifier of the same UAV and the second identifier of the controller. as a pair.

According to one embodiment, the request code is configured to request the second server for the first server to provide a group identifier for the UAV and controller pair, and the provisioning code is configured to request the first server to provide group identifiers for the UAV and controller pairs. is configured to provision QoS for paired communications using the paired group identifier.

According to one embodiment, the request code is configured for the first server to request the second server to provide respective group identifiers for each of the pairs, and the provisioning code is configured for the first server is configured to provision QoS for communication of the pairs using respective group identifiers for each of the pairs.

According to one embodiment, the second server is a Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) Group Manager Server and the third server is a Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) Network Resource Manager Server.

According to one embodiment, the trigger code is configured such that the first server sends a request to perform QoS adaptation to the third server.

According to one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing computer instructions is provided. The computer code, when executed by at least one processor implementing a first server, causes the at least one processor to generate group identifiers for pairs of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and controllers for the UAVs, or respective identifiers for each pair. requesting a second server to provide a group identifier, using the pairwise group identifier or the respective group identifier for each pair to provision quality of service (QoS) for the paired communication, and to determine if predetermined QoS requirements are not met, and to trigger a third server to perform QoS adaptation for the pair based on a determination that the conditions of the communication do not satisfy the predetermined QoS requirements; , further comprising:

Further features, properties and various advantages of the disclosed subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram of an unmanned aerial system (UAS); FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a UAS including UAS communication with at least one server; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system including a UAS, according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system including a UAS, according to one embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a high-level procedure for UAV group creation with a SEAL Group Manager Server, according to one embodiment; 1 is a schematic diagram of a high-level workflow for group-based direct C2 QoS provisioning, according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of computer code for a UAE server, according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary SEAL general architecture for a UAS; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a computer system according to one embodiment; FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) (100) may include an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (101) and a controller (102). The controller (102) can communicate control commands from the controller (102) to the UAV (101) using a data link (103). The controller (102) is configured to provide communications comprising the data link (103) via very high frequency (VHF), ultra high frequency (UHF) or other radio technology, be it analog or digital radio carrier. At least one communication circuit may be included. The controller (102) can control the power level of the engine (114) of the UAV (101) or control aspects of the UAV (101) via the data link (103). More abstract commands such as pitch, yaw, and roll, similar to helicopter or aircraft commands, can also be used. Experienced pilots can operate some UAVs with these basic controls without relying on sophisticated onboard processing of control signals inside the UAV. UAVs have been used in many forms, including helicopters and aircraft.

More recently, advances in onboard electronic design have allowed certain tasks to be offloaded from human operators to the UAV itself. Today, many UAVs have sensor(s) (104) that display characteristics of the UAV (101), such as UAV (101) attitude and acceleration, to the UAV (101)'s onboard controller (105). include. The on-board controller (105) may be a computer system with a reduced or non-existent user interface. Unless the information obtained by the sensor(s) (104) in addition to the control input received from the data link (103) from the controller (102) results in a positive control input from the controller (102). UAV (101) can remain stable.

More recently, the UAV has included a receiver (106) configured to receive communications from one of the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) operated by the United States. can be done. Figure 1 shows a single satellite (108) providing a signal (107) for such communications to represent GNSS. However, the UAV's (101) receiver (106) receives communications from a GNSS containing three or more, typically four or more direct wave satellites to triangulate the UAV's (101) position in space. can be surveyed. Receiver (106), which may be a GNSS receiver, is able to determine the spatial and temporal position of UAV (101) with considerable accuracy. For some UAVs, augment GNSS by adding a sensor (such as an ultrasonic or LIDAR sensor) to the UAV (101) on the vertical (Z) axis to enable soft landing (not shown) be able to. According to some embodiments, the UAV (101) has features such as "fly home" and "auto-landing" in which the UAV (101) flies to a position defined as its home location, based on GNSS capabilities. may be configured to perform UAV based on a simple command (e.g. single button push) from the controller (102) or in the event of loss of the data link (103) from the controller (102) or interruption of a critical control input (101) may perform such functions.

As another recent development, the UAV (101) may also include one or more cameras (109). In some cases, the UAV (101) may include a gimbal-mounted camera as one of the cameras (109), which can be used to record pictures and video of sufficient quality for the user of the UAV, and today many is recorded in high definition television resolution. In some cases, the UAV (101) may include other cameras (110), often covering some or all axes of motion, and the UAV (101) can detect both fixed and moving objects. collision avoidance, it may be configured to perform on-board signal processing based on signals from the camera (110).

In some cases, UAV (101) may include a "main" camera as one of cameras (109), the camera signal of which is transmitted over data link (111) to UAV (101)'s communication interface ( communication circuitry) to a human user in real time and can be displayed on a display device (112) included in, attached to, or separate from the controller (102). Data link (111) may be the same as or different from data link (103). Therefore, a technique known as "first-person view" (FPV) can be used to successfully fly UAVs outside the line of sight of a human pilot.

Referring to Figure 2, UAS (200) may include a UAV (201) and a controller (202). UAV (201) and controller (202) may be the same or similar to UAV (101) and controller (102), respectively, shown in FIG. According to one embodiment, a UAS (200), which may be operated by a human pilot (203), is configured to notify one or more USS (204) of the location of the UAV (201) in real time. may be configured. Reporting can be done using the Internet (205). This means that for all but most exotic use cases, including tethered UAVs, one or both of the UAV's (201) and UAS's (200) controllers (202) are connected to the network (207) (e.g. 5G network ), and that the USS (204) may also have a connection (208) with the Internet (205) via a wireless network such as can mean While such scenarios may be envisioned herein, embodiments of the present disclosure are not so limited. Networks other than the Internet (205) may be used. For example, conceivably, it is possible to communicate between UAS (200) and USS (204) using a closed wireless network that is not the Internet. Closed wireless networks may be used for certain military UAVs. References hereinafter to the "Internet" are meant to include such networks.

Connections (206) (e.g. wireless connections) and networks (207) (e.g. wireless networks) may connect systems such as controllers (202) of UAS (200) or UAVs (201) with the Internet (205). Many physical wireless network technologies can be deployed in possible applications. For outdoor applications, for example, mobile networks such as fifth generation or "5G" networks may be used. In the following, the use of such 5G networks may be assumed, but embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. Other physical network technologies including, for example, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, LTE mobile networks, wireless LANs in infrastructure or ad hoc mode, zig-bee, etc. can be used as well. In embodiments of the present disclosure, a mobile network carrying the Internet may provide two-way communication, such as between UAS (200) and USS (204). However, the quality of service in each direction may be different. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, UAV (201), controller (202), and/or USS (204) are configured to communicate via one or more of the network types of the present disclosure. As such, it may include a communication interface (eg, including a transmitter and/or receiver) and at least one processor having memory implementing one or more of the physical wireless network technologies.

Referring to FIG. 2, the connection (206) between the Internet (205) and the UAV (201) and/or controller (202) via the network (207) (eg, 5G network) can be bi-directional. . Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Quick UDP Internet for communication between UAS (200) and USS (204) When using Internet protocols such as Connectivity (QUIC), due to the nature of such protocols, bi-directional links may be required for these protocols to function.

Referring to FIGS. 3-4, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a system may be provided. The system may include a UAV (301) and a controller (302) that together constitute a UAS (300). UAV (301) and controller (302) may include any number of hardware components (eg, cameras and communication interfaces) and software components described with respect to UAS (100) and UAS (200) shown in Figures 1-2. and may be configured to perform the functions described with respect to UAS (100) and UAS (200). According to an embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, the UAV (301) may include a computer system (320) including at least one processor and memory storing computer code, the computer code being stored in the UAV (301). is configured to cause the UAV (301) to perform its functions when executed by at least one processor of Computer system (320) may be implemented by any number of the components of computer system (900) described below with reference to FIG. 9, excluding most of the user interface components shown in FIG. good. The computer system (320) may be an embedded system, usefully (for space and weight reasons) part of the UAV's (301) on-board flight control circuitry, or integrated therein. may be The computer system (320) may have mechanisms for obtaining its position in three-dimensional space. For example, computer system (320) may include a GPS antenna (323), which may be one example of such a mechanism along with a GPS receiver. The computer system (320) may, for example, determine lateral position from a combination of GPS and (potentially more accurate) barometric altitude sensors, ground-based navigation tools (omni-directional navigation systems (VOR), cell phone towers, etc.). Other mechanisms may be included, such as a triangulation mechanism for measuring. UAV (301) may also include storage (324) accessible to a user (309) of UAV (301). For example, as shown in Figure 3, the storage device (324) may be a micro SD card. However, the storage device (324) may be another modifiable semiconductor storage device, such as on-board NV-RAM in the UAV (301) accessible via a network plug from a computer or wireless LAN.

The controller (302) may also include a computer system including at least one processor and memory for storing computer code, which, when executed by the at least one processor of the controller (302), is the controller ( 302) is configured to perform that function. The computer system of controller (302) may be implemented by any number of the components of computer system (900) described below with reference to FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, the controller (302) may include storage (334) accessible by a user (309) of the controller (302). Storage device (334) may have the same or similar configuration as storage device (324). Depending on the embodiment, one or both of storage (324) and storage (334) may be included in UAS (300), or not at all.

Storage (324) and/or storage (334) may have a size at least sufficient to store information regarding the airspace(s) in which the UAV may operate. Such information may include digital representations of charts, NOTAMs, Restricted Flight Areas (TFR), and the like. The digital information may be interpreted by the UAV's (301) computer system (320) and/or the controller's (302) computer system to determine the three-dimensional position of the UAV (301) (including lateral position and altitude). can be compared (eg, correlated) with. Computer system (320) of UAV (301) and/or computer system of controller (302) determines that UAV (301) is presently occupied in the airspace currently occupied by UAV (301) as a result of the comparison process (e.g., correlation). It can be determined to be "legal flight" or "illegal flight". Alternatively or additionally, the computer system (320) of the UAV (301) and/or the computer system of the controller (302) determine that "legal flight but approaching legal airspace boundary", "legal Other results may be determined, such as "flying but not changing course becomes illegal within 10 seconds." Storage (324) and/or storage (334) may be populated with digital information regarding the airspace(s) in which UAV (301) is expected to fly.

The UAS (300) receives digital information about the airspace(s) via one or more of the radio connections (341) and radio connections (342) at UAV (301) power-up, pre-flight, or during flight. (or additional digital information that can update the digital information). For example, referring to Figure 3, UAV (301) of UAS (300) appears to have wireless connectivity (341) with the Internet (305) via a wireless network such as network (307) (e.g., 5G network). and one or more servers (304) (eg, USS) may have a connection with the Internet (305). Alternatively or additionally, referring to Figure 4, the UAS controller (302) establishes a wireless connection (342) with the Internet (305) via a wireless network such as the network (307) (e.g., a 5G network). One or more servers (304) may have a connection with the Internet (305). Accordingly, the controller (302) of the UAV (301) and/or UAS (300), via the Internet (305), over the airspace, operates one or more It may be configured to communicate with a server (304) and/or similar servers. Via wireless connection (341) and/or wireless connection (342), UAS (300) queries one or more servers (304) (e.g., USS) to obtain one or more servers (304 ) about the airspace(s) (or additional digital information).

For example, according to embodiments, UAV (301) and/or controller (302) may query USS (408) (and/or similar servers) for one or more of the following: , UAV (401) and/or controller (302) may retrieve and store it in storage (324) and/or storage (334).

(A) Charts: The UAV (301) or controller (302) is not up to date with onboard charts in storage (324) and/or storage (334) for the relevant airspace(s) (e.g. aeronautical charts may contain an expiration date), UAS (300) may query and retrieve charts for the particular airspace identified by UAS (300). For example, a particular airspace can be a geographic location obtained by UAS (300) from its GPS antenna (323) (e.g., location of UAS (401)), or a reasonable radius around the current location of UAV (301). There may be other georeferenced data including, where the reasonable radius is the durability of UAV (301) (e.g., maximum flight time), maximum velocity of UAV (301), and wind and other environmental factors. may be calculated by the UAV (301) or controller (302) based on a safety factor to accommodate

(B) NOTAM: UAS (300) may query and obtain NOTAMs pertaining to the specific airspace identified by UAS (300), the specific airspace being the same as or similar to the specific airspace described above. may be

(C) TFR: UAS (300) may query and obtain the TFR for the specific airspace identified by UAS (300), the specific airspace being the same or similar to the specific airspace described above. obtain.

(D) Other Information: UAS (300) may query and obtain other information related to UAV flight (eg, information about a particular airspace identified by UAS (300)). For example, other information may include weather data including, for example, wind data. According to embodiments, UAS (300) may use weather data to determine a safety factor for calculating a reasonable radius around the current location of UAV (301).

Information received using the aforementioned mechanisms may be integrated with on-board information in storage (324) and/or storage (334) and used as described further below.

Details of the protocol used for communication between the UAS (300) (e.g. UAV (301) or Controller (302)) and one or more Servers (304) (e.g. USS) are described in one or more It may depend on the services provided by the server (304). Historically, as an example, NOTAMs (eg, TFR) were available in files covering the geographic area of an air traffic control center (the size of several states in the United States). According to embodiments of the present disclosure, UAS (300) (e.g., UAV (301) or Controller (302)) can: (b) a NOTAM file of relevant text (a few tens of kilobytes or even hundreds of kilobytes in size) using a protocol such as FTP or HTTP; (c) parse the file for relevant information; and (e) integrate relevant information identified in the onboard chart information into storage (324) and/or storage (334). can. Such a process may take place at least once before the flight, but may take place several times during the flight, eg at 1 minute or 5 minute intervals. Such a process may be practical for relatively small file sizes. Other access mechanisms of this disclosure, described below, may be more efficient.

Most recently, aviation authorities, including the FAA, have implemented modern query interfaces that can automatically download information about a specific location with much finer granularity than states. These interfaces can be based on RESTful behavior. REST (Representational State Transfer) means that a client can use standard HTTP methods (including, for example, GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE) to a server identified by an underlying Unified Resource Identifier (URI). , is a technique that can be queried in a defined format. One such defined standard format is known as JSON (Java Object Notation).

Referring to FIG. 3, the UAV's (301) computer system (320) may include a communication interface including one or more communicators, such as, for example, a communicator (325) that may include a 5G antenna. The communicator (325) may be configured to send and receive data (eg, information related to airspace(s)) to and from the Internet (305) using the network (307). The communicator (325) or another communicator of the communication interface of the UAV (301) transfers data (e.g. command data) (e.g. sensor data, video data, information about airspace(s)). Controller (302) also transmits data (e.g., commands) to UAV (301) and data (e.g., sensor data, video data, airspace(s), etc. from UAV (301) via wireless connection (310). a communication interface with a communicator configured to receive information relating to ); Referring to FIG. 4, the communicator (315) of the controller (302), or another communicator of the communication interface of the controller (302), uses the network (307) to transfer data (e.g., , information about airspace(s)). Each communicator of the present disclosure may, for example, include a transmitter and a receiver.

According to embodiments, UAS (300) may be configured to receive digital information about airspace(s). According to embodiments, UAS (300) may be configured to communicate digital information about airspace(s) between UAV (301) and controller (302). According to embodiments, UAV (301) and/or controller (302) may be configured to make decisions (eg, illegal flights) based on digital information about airspace(s). According to embodiments, UAV (301) and/or controller (302) cause UAV (301) and/or controller (302) to alert user (309) about the decision and/or cause UAV (301) to may be configured to cause an action (eg, auto-return or auto-landing) to be performed based on . An example of alerting the user (309) about the decision is shown below.

Referring again to FIGS. 3-4, charts stored in memory (324) and/or memory (334) according to any of the mechanisms described above or any other suitable mechanism of embodiments of the present disclosure. After obtaining updates to the information, UAS (300) may communicate the results (eg, correlations) of the comparison process based on the updated chart information to user (309). While flying the UAV (301), the user (309) may not be particularly interested in the details obtained. Instead, the user (309) may be mostly interested in displaying an event that the flight of the UAV (301) is or has become illegal.

According to an embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, the UAS (300) uses a wireless connection (310) between the UAV (301) and the controller (302) to calculate the results of the comparison (eg, correlation). The user (309) may be notified to communicate a signal that encodes, for example, vibration of the controller (302), a visual signal such as a warning, or a signal that is part of (or attached to) the controller (302). The user (309) may be notified by a message on the display (312) obtained. For example, a wireless connection (310) may be available. However, if for some reason such wireless connectivity is not available, the UAV (301) may alternatively or additionally inform the User (309) of the results of the comparison process (eg correlation). may include an on-board mechanism for For example, UAV (301) may include ground visible warning lights. As another example, UAV (301) may "bob" (rapid oscillatory vertical motion).

Referring to FIG. 6, embodiments of the present disclosure may include alternative or additional implementations that shift some of the computational load from the UAV (301) to the controller (302). For example, in this case the controller (302) has access to a storage device (334) containing (potentially updated) chart data, which is transmitted by the UAV (301) over the wireless connection (310). The aforementioned comparisons (eg, correlations) may be performed based on the location information (obtained by the GPS antenna (323)) obtained. to one or more servers (304) (e.g. USS) via the communicator (315) (e.g. 5G interface), the network (307) (e.g. 5G network) and the Internet (305) Chart data may be updated using any suitable mechanism, including those described above. The result of the comparison (e.g., whether the flight is legal or not) is made available locally at the controller (302), which the controller (302) sends, for example, a visual signal (e.g., via light), a display It may be communicated to the user (309) via a message above (312), a vibrating alert, or other suitable mechanism. When the controller (302) controls the UAV (301), the results may also be visualized by the UAV (301) itself, e.g. with lights attached to the UAV (301), or "bobbing" the UAV. be. Displaying the determination results by the UAV (301) may be beneficial as it allows the user (309) to focus on the UAV (301) itself rather than the user interface of the controller (302).

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) 5G Radio Architecture includes SEALs (Vertical Applications) that provide procedures, information flows, and APIs to support vertical applications over 3GPP® systems. service enabler architecture layer) may be present. SEAL services include group management, configuration management, location management, identity management, key management, and network resource management to ensure efficient use and deployment of vertical applications over the 3GPP system. may include, but are not limited to:

An exemplary SEAL general architecture for UAS is described below with reference to FIG.

The SEAL general architecture includes, for example, user equipment (UE) (710) (e.g., UAS), 3GPP network (720), UAV Application Enablement (UAE) server (730), and SEAL server(s). (740) may be included. UE(s) (710) may include, for example, UAE client(s) (712) and SEAL client(s) (714).

A UAE client (712) may provide UAE client-side functionality and may support interaction with SEAL client(s) (714) via a reference point (701). The UAE server (730) may provide UAE server-side functionality and may support interaction with the SEAL server(s) (740) via reference points (704).

SEAL client(s) (714) may provide client-side functionality corresponding to a particular SEAL service, SEAL client(s) (714) may , and may also support interaction with a corresponding SEAL client (714) between two UEs (710). The SEAL server(s) (740) may provide server-side functionality corresponding to a particular SEAL service, may support interaction with the UAE server(s) (730), and may be a distributed SEAL Interaction with the corresponding SEAL server (740) in the deployment can also be supported.

Interactions related to vertical application layer support functions between UAE clients (712) and vertical application layer (VAL) servers may be provided via reference points (702). The VAL Server may be part of or comprise the UAE Server (730). Interaction between SEAL clients (714) and corresponding SEAL servers (740) may be provided through reference points (703). The reference point (703) may be a reference point for a particular SEAL service (such as network resource management) and may be specified in a particular SEAL service functional model.

A Network Resource Management (NRM) server may be provided that communicates with the 3GPP® Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) via a reference point (705). The NRM server communicates with the 3GPP 5G Policy Control Function (PCF) via a reference point (706) and can control unicast resources from the underlying 3GPP network (720). . The NRM server may be part of the SEAL server (740) or may comprise the SEAL server (740) and the PCRF and PCF are included in the 3GPP network (720). good too.

According to embodiments, a 3GPP® 5G radio architecture may include a SEAL Group Manager (GM) server configured to enable higher application layer group management operations. A 3GPP® 5G radio architecture may also include a SEAL Network Resource Manager (NRM) server configured to enable support of unicast and multicast network resource management for upper application layers.

Currently, there are three types of C2 (command and control) communication modes supported by 5G radio technology: direct C2, network-assisted C2, and UAS traffic management (UTM) navigated C2 communication.

Direct-C2 is a mode in which a direct C2 link is established between the UAV controller and the UAV, whereby the UAV controller and UAV communicate with the radio configured and scheduled for direct C2 communication provided by the 5G network. Using resources, they can communicate with each other and both are registered in the 5G network. That is, for example, a direct C2 would allow the UAV controller and UAV to communicate via a 3GPP network (e.g., 5G network) instead of using Bluetooth, WIFI, or any other unlicensed radio resource. It may be a mode to According to embodiments, both the UAV controller and the UAV may have an engineered 3GPP® subscription and may have a 3GGP UE ID.

Network-assisted C2 communication is a mode in which the UAV controller and UAV register and establish their respective unicast C2 communication links to the 5G network and communicate with each other over the 5G network.

UTM navigated C2 communication means submitting a pre-scheduled flight plan to the UAV, allowing the UTM (e.g. USS server) to maintain a C2 communication link with the UAV, periodically monitor the UAV's flight status, This mode uses the latest dynamic constraints to check flight conditions, provide route updates, and navigate the UAV as needed.

As described above, both UAV-originated QoS (UAS-to-network uplink) or UAS-terminated QoS (network-to-UAS downlink) can be maintained for UAS application layer operation. QoS may include, but is not limited to network bandwidth, delay, jitter, data loss rate, and the like. The three currently supported C2 communication modes may require different network resource support from the UAS application layer.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can solve the above problems and others.

According to embodiments, for direct C2 communication, a service enabler architecture layer (SEAL) group manager server may be provided to ensure matching between UAV and UAV controller pairs, such as matching based on a specific UAS ID configuration. good. A SEAL Network Resource Manager (NRM) server can trigger network QoS provisioning based on the group ID. In some cases, separate subgroups (or other types of separate groups) can be created for UAVs and UAV controllers to achieve separate QoS control for each uplink and downlink. Embodiments of the present disclosure can provide network resource support by providing direct C2 QoS provisioning using a group-based approach.

Referring to Figure 5, a method of creating a group of pairs of UAVs and UAV controllers is shown. As shown in FIG. 5, a UAV Controller (401), UAV Application Enabled (UAE) Server (402), UAV (403) and SEAL GM Server (404) may be provided. According to embodiments, such components may be implemented in the systems shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, UAV Controller (401) may correspond to Controller (302), UAV (403) may correspond to UAV (301), UAE Server (402) and SEAL GM Server (404) may correspond to one It may be implemented by one or more servers (304) and at least one processor that is the same or different. Such components can communicate with each other using the various connections shown in FIGS.

According to embodiments, systems (eg, the systems shown in FIGS. 3-4) may be configured to provide direct C2 communications, network-assisted C2 communications, and/or UTM navigated C2 communications, as described below. It may be configured to execute the group creation method to do so.

Referring to Figure 5, both UAV controller (401) and UAV (403) may first connect to a UAE server (402) with a common UAS ID (step 405).

The UAE Server (402) may recognize the unique pair of UAV Controller (401) and UAV (403) after connection (step 406). For example, UAE Server (402) determines that UAV Controller (401) and UAV (403) are paired based on receiving the same UAS ID from both UAV Controller (401) and UAV (403). may recognize.

After recognizing the pair, the UAE server (402) uses the link (eg, GM-S reference link) between the UAE server (402) and the SEAL GM server (404) to send the pair's group creation request to the SEAL It may be sent to the GM server (404) (step 407).

Based on receiving the create group request, the SEAL GM Server (404) may create a group ID for the pair of UAV (403) and UAV Controller (401) (step 408).

Optionally, subgroups (or other types of separate groups) may be created for UAV (403) and UAV controller (401) respectively (step 409).

The UAE server (402) may use the returned group ID(s) for QoS management (eg, initial QoS assignment, QoS monitoring, and QoS tuning) (step 410). If subgroups (or other types of separate groups) are created for the UAV (403) and UAV Controller (401), the UAE Server (402) assigns each group ID (e.g., subgroup ID) to may be used to separately manage QoS for the UAV (403) and UAV controller (401).

Once the group ID(s) are assigned by the SEAL GM Server (404), the UAE Server (402) may use that ID for QoS provisioning for direct C2 communication.

For example, referring to Figure 6, a high-level workflow for group-based direct C2 QoS provisioning is shown. As shown in FIG. 6, a SEAL NRM server (504) and a 3GPP® core network (505) may also be provided. The SEAL NRM server (504) may be implemented by one or more of the servers (304) shown in Figures 3-4. For example, the SEAL NRM server (504) is implemented by the same or different server(s) and/or at least one processor that is the same or different than the UAE server (402) and/or the SEAL GM server (404). may The 3GPP® Core Network (505) may correspond to the network (307) shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 6, UAV controller (401) and/or UAV (403) may use the initially assigned network QoS setup for direct C2 communication (step 506). For example, the UAV Controller (401) and/or UAV (403) may use radio resources originally allocated by the UAE Server (402).

The UAE Server (402) uses the group ID and/or sub-group ID(s) corresponding to the UAV (403) and UAV Controller (401) to generate the expected UAV (403) and UAV Controller (401) QoS may be monitored periodically (step 507). For example, UAV (403) and UAV Controller (401) may periodically feed back current (3GPP®) network conditions to UAE Server (402) for resource adaptation. Current network conditions may include, for example, bandwidth, delay, jitter, and the like.

If the UAE Server (402) determines that the direct C2 communication does not meet at least one predetermined QoS requirement, the UAE Server (402) uses the NRM-S reference points to trigger a QoS adaptation. It may choose to send a QoS adaptation request to the NRM server (504) (step 508). Depending on how the UAE Server (402) handles group creation, QoS adaptation requests may be sent for each group or subgroup. According to an embodiment, the QoS Adaptation Request includes group and/or sub-group IDs corresponding to the UAE Server (402), UAV (403) and UAV Controller (401), and UAV (403) and/or UAV Controller ( 401) may include information identifying resource compatibility requirements (eg, bandwidth, resources, etc.).

Based on the QoS adaptation request, the SEAL NRM Server (504) may perform network resource adaptation (step 509). For example, network resource adaptation may include sending 505 a request for updated QoS requirements to the 3GPP® core network. As an example, network resource adaptation may be performed via reference point 705 and reference point 706 shown in FIG.

The SEAL NRM Server (504) may, in response, inform the UAE Server (402) of the QoS update (step 510). According to embodiments, the response may include result information indicating the success or failure of the QoS adaptation. The response may also include updated values for one or more of the parameters included in the network resource adaptation request (eg, resource provision negotiation).

The UAS application layer may then use the updated QoS assignments for C2 communications (step 511). According to embodiments, the UAS application layer is configured to utilize SEAL services such as location management, group management, configuration management, identity management, key management, and network resource management, UAV controller (401), UAV (403), and functional application entities for one or more servers (304). According to embodiments, UAV controller (401) and UAV (403) may each include a UAS application-specific client as part of the UAS application layer, and one or more servers (304) may include UAE servers (402). ) may include a UAS application-specific server with links to The UAS application specific server, UAE server (402) and SEAL GM server (404) may be implemented by one or more servers (304) that are the same or different and at least one processor thereof that is the same or different.

A system of the present disclosure may comprise at least one processor and memory storing computer code. The computer code may be configured such that, when executed by at least one processor, the at least one processor performs the functions of embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, each of the UAV and UAV controller of the present disclosure may each comprise at least one processor and memory storing computer code configured to cause the UAV and UAV controller to perform their respective functions. Furthermore, the servers of the present disclosure (e.g., UAE server (402), SEAL GM server (404), SEAL NRM server (504)) may be identical or dissimilar processors and/or identical processors storing at least one processor and/or computer code. or may be implemented by a different memory.

An example of computer code, namely computer code implementing the UAE Server (402), is described below with reference to FIG. Computer code may include, for example, recognition code (602), request code (604), provisioning code (606), determination code (608), and trigger code (610).

The recognition code (602) is configured such that the UAV and controller are recognized as a pair by the UAE server (402) based on the UAV and controller being communicatively connected to the UAE server (402). may For example, the recognition code (602) is based on the UAE server (402) obtaining a first identifier for the same UAV and a second identifier for the controller, and the UAE server (402) recognizes the UAV and the controller of the UAV. as a pair.

The request code (604) may be configured for the UAE server (402) to request the SEAL GM server (404) to provide the pair's group identifier, or the respective group identifier for each pair.

The provisioning code (606) may be configured such that the UAE server (402) uses the pair's group identifier or each respective group identifier to provision QoS for the pair's communications.

The decision code (608) may be configured to cause the UAE server (402) to decide whether conditions of the communication do not meet predetermined QoS requirements.

The trigger code (610) triggers the UAE server (402) to perform QoS adaptation for the pair by the SEAL NRM server (504) based on a determination that communication conditions do not meet predetermined QoS requirements. It may be configured as For example, the trigger code (610) may be configured for the UAE server (402) to send a request to the SEAL NRM server (504) to perform QoS adaptation.

While the above describes exemplary code executed by the UAE Server (402), each of the UAVs, UAVs, UAV controllers, and servers of this disclosure are identical to the UAVs, UAV controllers, and servers described in this disclosure. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the functions, including those described herein, may include and/or be performed by computer code configured to perform each function. .

Referring to FIG. 9, a computer system (900) suitable for implementing certain embodiments of the disclosed subject matter is shown.

The computer software can be coded using any suitable machine code or computer language, which can be directly executed, interpreted, Assembly, compilation, linking, or similar mechanisms would be performed to create code containing instructions that can be executed via microcode execution or the like.

The instructions may be executed on various types of computers or components thereof including, for example, personal computers, tablet computers, servers, smart phones, gaming devices, IoT devices, and the like.

The components shown in FIG. 9 for computer system (900) are exemplary in nature and are intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the computer software implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. do not have. No configuration of components should be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of computer system (900).

The computer system (900) may include certain human interface input devices. Such human interface input devices include, for example, tactile input (e.g. keystrokes, swipes, data glove movements), audio input (e.g. voice, clapping), visual input (e.g. gestures), olfactory input (not shown). can respond to input by one or more human users via Using human interface devices, audio (e.g., conversation, music, ambient sounds, etc.), images (e.g., scanned images, photographic images obtained from still image cameras, etc.), video (two-dimensional images, three-dimensional images including stereoscopic images) Certain media not necessarily directly related to conscious human input, such as original video, can also be captured.

Human interface input devices include keyboard (901), mouse (902), trackpad (903), touch screen (910), joystick (905), microphone (906), scanner (907), and camera (908). may include one or more (only one of each) of

The computer system (900) may also include certain human interface output devices. Such human interface output devices may stimulate the senses of one or more human users by, for example, tactile output, sound, light, and smell/taste. Such human interface output devices include haptic feedback through haptic output devices (e.g., touch screens (910), data gloves, or joysticks (905), where haptic feedback devices that do not function as input devices are present). For example, such devices include audio output devices (speakers (909), headphones (not shown), etc.), visual output devices (CRT screens, LCD screens, plasma screens, screens 910, including OLED screens, etc.). Each with or without touch screen input capability, each with or without haptic feedback capability, some of which include, for example, virtual reality glasses (not shown), holographic displays, and smoke tanks (not shown). (some can output two-dimensional visual output, or output beyond three-dimensional through means such as stereographic output), and a printer (not shown).

The computer system (900) also includes optical media including CD/DVD ROM/RW (920) with human-accessible storage devices and associated media such as CD/DVD media (921), thumb Drives (922), removable hard drives or solid state drives (923), legacy magnetic media such as tapes and floppy disks (not shown), special ROM/ASIC/PLD based devices such as security dongles (not shown), etc. is also included.

Those skilled in the art should also understand that the term "computer-readable medium" as used in connection with this disclosure does not encompass transmission media, carrier waves, or other transitory signals.

The computer system (900) may also include interfaces with one or more communication networks. Networks include, for example, wireless, wired, and optical networks. Networks also include local, wide area, metropolitan, vehicular and industrial, real-time, delay tolerant, and the like. Examples of networks include local area networks such as Ethernet, cellular networks including wireless LAN, GSM, 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE, etc., television wired or wireless wide area digital networks including cable television, satellite television and terrestrial television. , vehicular and industrial, including CANBus. Certain networks generally require an external network interface adapter (e.g., USB port of computer system (900)) to be attached to a specific general-purpose data port or peripheral bus (949), others generally described below. It is integrated into the core of the computer system (900) by connecting to the system bus in such a way as to do so (eg, an Ethernet interface to a PC computer system or a cellular network interface to a smartphone computer system, etc.). Any of these networks may be used by computer system (900) to communicate with other entities. Such communication can be unidirectional, receive only (e.g. broadcast TV), unidirectional transmit only (e.g. CANbus to a specific CANbus device), or bidirectional, e.g. local area digital network or wide area digital network. communication with other computer systems used. Such communication may include communication with the cloud computing environment (955). Specific protocols and protocol stacks may be used on each of these networks and network interfaces, as described above.

The aforementioned human interface devices, human-accessible storage devices, and network interfaces (954) can be attached to the core (940) of the computer system (900).

The core (940) includes one or more central processing units (CPUs) (941), graphics processing units (GPUs) (942), dedicated programmable processing units (943) in the form of field programmable gate areas (FPGAs), and It can include hardware accelerators (944) for specific tasks, and the like. These devices use the system bus (948) along with read-only memory (ROM) (945), random-access memory (RAM) (946), internal mass storage such as internal hard drives that are not user-accessible, SSDs, etc. can be connected via In some computer systems, the system bus (948) may be accessible in the form of one or more physical plugs to allow expansion with additional CPUs, GPUs, etc. Peripheral devices can be connected to the core's system bus (948) either directly or through a peripheral bus (949). Peripheral bus architectures include PCI and USB. A graphics adapter (950) may be included in the core 940.

The CPU (941), GPU (942), FPGA (943), and accelerator (944) are capable of executing specific instructions that can be combined to form the computer code described above. The computer code can be stored in ROM (945) or RAM (946). Transient data may also be stored in RAM (946), while permanent data may be stored, for example, in internal mass storage (947). Fast storage and retrieval to any of the storage devices is closely associated with one or more CPU (941), GPU (942), mass storage (947), ROM (945), RAM (946), etc. It can be made possible by using a cache memory that can

The computer-readable medium can have computer code for performing various computer-implemented operations. The media and computer code may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present disclosure, or they may be of the kind well known and available to those of skill in the computer software arts. good.

By way of example and not limitation, a computer system (900) having an architecture, specifically a core (940), may host software embodied in one or more tangible computer-readable media (CPU, GPU, Functionality may be provided as a result of execution by processor(s) (including FPGAs, accelerators, etc.). Such computer-readable media include user-accessible mass storage devices such as those introduced above, as well as core internal mass storage devices (947) or cores (940) of a non-transitory nature, such as ROM (945). It can also be a medium associated with a particular storage device of the . Software implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure may be stored in such devices and executed by the core (940). A computer-readable medium may include one or more storage devices or chips, according to particular needs. The software instructs the cores (940) and, in particular, the processors therein (including CPU, GPU, and FPGA, etc.) to define data structures stored in RAM (946) and to follow the processes defined by the software. Certain processes or portions of certain processes described herein may be performed including modifying such data structures. Additionally or alternatively, the computer system may include circuitry (e.g., The functionality may be provided as a result of hard-wired logic in the accelerator (944), or logic embodied in other ways. References to software may encompass logic, and vice versa, where appropriate. References to computer readable media include, where appropriate, circuits that store software for execution (such as integrated circuits (ICs)), circuits embodying logic for execution, or both. be able to. This disclosure encompasses any suitable combination of hardware and software.

Although this disclosure has described several non-limiting exemplary embodiments, modifications, permutations, and various alternative equivalents exist that fall within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, one skilled in the art may devise numerous systems and methods not expressly shown or described herein that embody the principles of the present disclosure and thus fall within its spirit and scope. Understand what you can do.

100 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
101 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
102 Controller
103 data link
104 sensors
105 onboard controller
106 Receiver
107 Signal
108 satellites
109 camera
110 camera
111 data link
112 Display Device
114 engine
200 UAS
201 UAVs
202 Controller
203 Pilot
204 USS
205 Internet
206 connection
207 Network
208 connections
300 UAS
301 UAVs
302 Controller
304 servers
305 Internet
307 network
309 users
310 wireless connection
312 displays
315 Communications
320 computer system
323 GPS Antenna
324 storage
325 Communications
334 storage
341 wireless connection
342 wireless connection
401 UAV Controller
402 UAE Server
403 UAVs
404 SEAL GM Server
504 SEAL NRM Server
602 recognition code
604 request code
606 Provisioning Code
608 Judgment code
610 Trigger Code
701 reference point
702 reference points
703 Reference Points
704 Reference Points
705 reference points
706 Reference Points
710 User Equipment (UE)
712 UAE clients
714 SEAL Client
720 3GPP® network
730 UAE Server
740 SEAL Server
900 computer system
901 keyboard
902 mouse
903 trackpad
905 joystick
906 microphone
907 Scanner
908 camera
909 speaker
910 touch screen
920 CD/DVD ROM/RW
921 Media such as CD/DVD
922 thumb drive
923 removable hard drive or solid state drive
940 cores
941 central processing unit (CPU)
942 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
943 Field Programmable Gate Area (FPGA)
944 hardware accelerator
945 Read Only Memory (ROM)
946 random access memory (RAM)
947 core internal mass storage
948 System Bus
949 Peripheral Bus
950 graphics adapter
954 network interface
955 cloud computing environment

Claims (12)

A method performed by at least one processor implementing a first server, comprising:
requesting group identifiers for pairs of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and controllers of said UAVs, or respective group identifiers for each pair, from a second server to create one or more groups of said pairs; obtaining based on
provisioning quality of service (QoS) for communication of the pairs using the group identifiers of the pairs or the respective group identifiers for each of the pairs;
and triggering a third server to perform QoS adaptation for said pair based on a determination that said communication conditions do not meet predetermined QoS requirements. said communication of said pair is a direct command and control (C2) communication between said UAV and said controller;
The method of Claim 1. said state of said communication includes at least one of bandwidth, delay, jitter, and data loss rate;
The method of Claim 1. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: recognizing the UAV and the controller of the UAV as the pair based on the fact that the UAV and the controller are communicatively connected to the first server. the method of. The step of recognizing the pairs includes:
obtaining a first identifier for the UAV and a second identifier for the controller;
5. The method of claim 4, comprising recognizing the UAV and the controller as the pair based on the first identifier being the same as the second identifier. the obtaining step includes obtaining the group identifier for the pair based on requesting the second server to create the one or more groups for the pair;
the step of provisioning includes provisioning QoS for the communication of the pair using the group identifier of the pair;
The method of Claim 1. The obtaining step obtains the respective group identifier for each of the pairs based on requesting the second server to create the one or more groups for the pairs. including
the step of provisioning includes provisioning the QoS for the communication of the pair using the respective group identifier for each pair;
The method of Claim 1. The second server is the Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) Group Manager Server,
the third server is a Service Enabler Architecture Layer (SEAL) network resource manager server;
The method of Claim 1. said triggering said third server to perform said adaptation of said QoS of said pair comprises sending a request to said third server to perform said adaptation of said QoS;
The method of Claim 1. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving a response from the third server indicating that the QoS has been successfully adapted. a system,
at least one processor;
A memory storing computer code, said computer code being configured to cause a first server implemented by said at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1-10. A system comprising a memory and . A computer program for causing a computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1-10.

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